Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Most Overlooked Current Gen Games - Part One

The Most Overlooked Games series has been around almost as long as SuperPhillip Central has-- seven years now. With each entry, we take a look at five of the most overlooked, less talked about games on various systems, past and present. With this new entry in the long-running series, we reach a new destination, the current generation of consoles. From colorful and charming games with great personality to survival horror delights (going from cute to creepy), this inaugural list of Most Overlooked Current Gen Games delivers variety. After all, it IS the spice of life!

Tearaway: Unfolded (PS4)

The original Tearaway released on the PlayStation Vita a couple of years ago. It received great critical acclaim, but it suffered in sales due to the fact that it released on the Vita, a platform that isn't particularly overly active in sales. Thus, the game was given a second chance to shine, this time on the PlayStation 4 with Tearaway: Unfolded. The game keeps its lovely charm and creative gameplay, using the Dualshock 4 controller in engaging ways to engage with the environment. You are essentially the god of the world, helping Atoi out of predicaments and helping the cute avatar progress through the game's many areas. Tearaway: Unfolded didn't see much in the way of sales success, despite once again receiving a wide amount of critical acclaim. It's sad, as not only is the game a joy to play-- it's a joy to behold.

Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance (PS4)

Selling less than 25,000 units in its launch week in Japan, Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance is as niche as niche gets when it comes to tactical RPGs. Still, the series survives due to its dependable fan base that enjoys each entry, and rightfully so, as the games are not only beautiful to look at, but they deliver excellent gameplay, a colorful cast of characters, and more doods than you can shake a penguin at. Disgaea 5 follows this tradition, offering new changes to the series, such as the ability to show 100 characters on screen at the same time compared to the fraction of characters that could appear at once in the PS3 games. New classes, a new revenge system, and new moves make for a game that appears on the current generation of PlayStation hardware in style.

Rayman Legends (PS4, XONE, Wii U)

You can't say that Ubisoft didn't try with Rayman Legends. I'm not referring to the wonderful quality of the game-- more to the fact that Ubisoft has released the game on essentially every platform under the sun to try to find some sort of sales success. From last generation platforms like the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 to the current generation with the PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, and PlayStation Vita. Rayman Legends works as single player game and a multiplayer one. There are traditional Rayman platforming levels, but included in this sequel are Murfy levels that in this writer's opinion work best and are more intuitive control-wise on the Wii U and PlayStation Vita, mostly to thank because of the touch screen interactions. You can move platforms and interact with mechanisms as an AI or human player progresses through a given level. The art is sensational, the music is as good as ever, and the gameplay shines with Rayman Legends.

Resident Evil: Revelations 2 (PS4, XONE, Vita)

Also released on last gen platforms, Resident Evil: Revelations 2 saw an episodic release schedule, offering four episodes. The game sees players taking on a dual role as Claire Redfield, the main protagonist in the game, and Moira, who is the original Resident Evil's Barry Burton's daughter, who serves as part of the supporting cast. The game feels more like a survival horror game like older Resident Evil games and less like the action-intensive sequels that we've come to know as of late. The story takes place between Resident Evils 5 and 6, telling a tale of Claire and Moira being abducted and placed on an island by a mysterious masked person. It's a story of their survival and hopeful escape from the island. Resident Evil: Revelations 2 didn't see much in the way of attention when it released, slowly rolling out episodes one after the other. Still, if you have the time and the desire, Revelations 2 is worth checking out.

Zombi (PS4, XONE)

ZombiU was a failure in sales on the Wii U, being a launch title for the system from Ubisoft. Because of its poor sales, Rayman Legends, another Ubisoft game, was delayed on the Wii U and ported to various systems. ZombiU received a second chance with a digital release on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, though doing away with the U in the title and obviously the GamePad-centric features of the Wii U. Zombi is indeed a survival horror game in the most literal sense of the term. You're trying to survive the zombie apocalypse in London, England, and when your character dies, that's it. He or she is gone forever, and your new character awakens with little equipment to begin with. This makes it so every encounter with a zombie is a tense one. Make a wrong move and you risk being bitten, immediately making you lose your survivor. Yes, you can defeat a past survivor turned zombie, but can you make it to that zombie's location and stay alive? Zombi is a fantastic game that-- I'm going to hate myself for saying this since it's so cliche-- is like the Dark Souls of zombie games. Ew. That left a bitter taste in my mouth.